KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia's consumer prices likely rose at a marginally faster pace in May than in the previous two months, a Reuters poll showed on Monday, as changes in tax policies over the past year continued to weigh on inflation.
The median forecast among 14 economists surveyed by Reuters was for the consumer price index to climb 0.3% from a year earlier in May.
The index had risen 0.2% year-on-year in March and April, following two months in deflationary territory.
Inflation has been mild since an unpopular consumption tax was scrapped in June 2018, while transport costs have fallen amid a government effort to cap domestic fuel prices.
In May, the central bank cut its key interest rate for the first time since 2016, amid weak inflation and concerns over slowing economic growth.
Bank Negara Malaysia, however, has said the country did not face serious deflationary pressures. Headline inflation, which came in at 1% in 2018, was likely to average higher this year, the central bank said.